Veteran skydives for 80th birthday
The Dispatch
By Nash Dunn
June 27, 2013
Calvin Mullineaux waited until his 80th birthday to jump out of a plane.
Mullineaux, who spent close to 20 years flying planes in the Air Force, said he never received the opportunity to bail out of an aircraft or take a training jump.
"I used to tell paratroopers and some of my fellow servicemen, 'I couldn't understand why anyone would ever want to leave a perfectly good airplane,'" said Mullineaux, who lives off Swicegood Road near Churchland.
However, Mullineaux threw any of his apprehensions out of the window earlier this year when he went skydiving in Salisbury on April 20, his birthday.
read more here
This hilarious video uses Rocky "Gonna Fly Now" while they are walking to the plane!
Friday, June 28, 2013
Retired Marine Gen. Cartwright investigated in cyber leaks probe
Retired Marine Gen. Cartwright investigated in cyber leaks probe
By PETE YOST
Associated Press
Published: June 27, 2013
WASHINGTON -- A former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is under investigation for allegedly leaking classified information about a covert cyberattack on Iran's nuclear facilities, according to media reports.
Retired Marine Gen. James "Hoss" Cartwright has been told he is a target of the probe, NBC News and The Washington Post reported Thursday. A "target" is someone a prosecutor or grand jury has substantial evidence linking to a crime and who is likely to be charged.
The Justice Department referred questions to the U.S. attorney's office in Baltimore, where a spokeswoman, Marcia Murphy, declined to comment.
The investigation of the leak about the Iran cyberattack is one of a number of national security leak investigations that have been started by the Obama administration, including ones involving The Associated Press and Fox News.
In June 2012, the New York Times reported that Cartwright was a crucial player in the cyber operation called Olympic Games, started under President George W. Bush.
Bush reportedly advised President Barack Obama to preserve Olympic Games.
According to the Times, Obama ordered the cyberattacks sped up, and in 2010 an attack using a computer virus called Stuxnet temporarily disabled 1,000 centrifuges that the Iranians were using to enrich uranium.
read more here
By PETE YOST
Associated Press
Published: June 27, 2013
WASHINGTON -- A former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is under investigation for allegedly leaking classified information about a covert cyberattack on Iran's nuclear facilities, according to media reports.
Retired Marine Gen. James "Hoss" Cartwright has been told he is a target of the probe, NBC News and The Washington Post reported Thursday. A "target" is someone a prosecutor or grand jury has substantial evidence linking to a crime and who is likely to be charged.
The Justice Department referred questions to the U.S. attorney's office in Baltimore, where a spokeswoman, Marcia Murphy, declined to comment.
The investigation of the leak about the Iran cyberattack is one of a number of national security leak investigations that have been started by the Obama administration, including ones involving The Associated Press and Fox News.
In June 2012, the New York Times reported that Cartwright was a crucial player in the cyber operation called Olympic Games, started under President George W. Bush.
Bush reportedly advised President Barack Obama to preserve Olympic Games.
According to the Times, Obama ordered the cyberattacks sped up, and in 2010 an attack using a computer virus called Stuxnet temporarily disabled 1,000 centrifuges that the Iranians were using to enrich uranium.
read more here
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Veterans deserve the truth no matter how unpopular it is
Veterans deserve the truth no matter how unpopular it is
Wounded Times Blog
Kathie Costos
June 27, 2013
How many lives have to be lost before we start asking where all the money is going? When did we just decide no one was responsible for anything? Here are two videos you need to listen to.
Iraq veteran talks about coming home and feeling like a train wreck. He ends this part by talking about when he took his gun, chambered the round and stuck the barrel in his mouth.
He begins talking about how he had the gun in his mouth when his wife walked in. Had she not entered the room when she did, he wouldn't have lived to tell his story.
Paul learned how to know that he was not only forgiven but was able to forgive himself.
We can always say dumb things when we are confronted by someone in so much pain. It is an automatic response to try to fix them. Not because we think we have all the answers, but it is just too hard to see them hurting so much and standing there in silence doesn't seem to be an option. Our silence is what they need sometimes. Just to be there and listen to them helps them heal. Our silence other times ends up harming them more because when they can't find the words, we have to be their voice.
After I was speaking at a Point Man conference I was enjoying the music. I grabbed my camera and shot this video back in 2010. (It is one of the reasons why I decided to go to school to learn how to shoot videos.) As you can see the footage is all over the place. I didn't plan on filming what Paul had to say. I was just standing at the back of the church trying to get some audio of the band that played before him. I was holding the camera, for some reason, didn't think of shutting it off when Paul began to tell his story. When he was done, I told him I filmed him and gave him the option of taking the tape, destroying it or allowing me to put it up on YouTube. It didn't take him long to decide. He said "Put it up because I am tired of losing my guys."
What is important is what he had to say almost three years ago. It is all still going on right now. Paul talked about how Point Man helped him not just heal but inspired him to help others.
It seems as if the groups popping up all over the country, sending out fundraising letters and being sponsored by companies on TV along with an endless supply of corporations sponsoring their events have a lot to answer for, but no one is asking them any questions. The numbers of attempted suicides, like Paul on the brink, should have clued people in a long time ago that when groups talk about the "problem" and show heart tugging images on TV, they never manage to actually say what they are doing about it. I am tired of giving them publicity, even bad publicity, so I won't mention them here but I have a feeling you know exactly what group I am referring to. Most of you have sent enough emails complaining about them. The number of successful suicides reaching a record high after all the money spent with the DOD and the VA "addressing" it and "raising awareness" should have been a clue they are not being held accountable either. Then we also have the high record of calls to suicide prevention at the same time all these numbers are turing bad.
Until all of us get a clue on the lack of accountability from everyone claiming to be "doing" something, none of this will ever be any better for them.
Other groups can come and go but Point Man has been doing the work of healing the "moral injury" that has been in the news lately and working with families since 1984. They started with Vietnam veterans before average people heard about PTSD. What we do doesn't cost a lot of money. How much does it cost to give someone your time, answer an email, say a prayer or take them out for a cup of coffee? Sure we have to pay for Bibles and materials if we have groups. In my case, I attend so many events that I travel with a supply of Bibles because I know I'll be talking to someone in need of these special Bibles written for veterans.
They are suffering but too many huge groups are gaining from their pain instead of investing in their healing. I am tired of it. I was tired of it when I was writing my book, which I know you may be tired of hearing about so I won't write the title this time. I am tired of turing on the TV and hearing about everything but the truth on how things got so messed up for our veterans when we have known about all of this for this long. Most of all I am tired of one more Mom asking why her son or her daughter decided to die instead of staying here. I used to be able to tell them that things were changing but that was years ago. Now I don't know what to say other than try to comfort them while they blame themselves for something that was not their fault.
Not doing anything after you read their stories is part of the problem because everyone will keep getting away with all of this unless we demand accountability all the way around. Don't the veterans deserve at least that from us?
Wounded Times Blog
Kathie Costos
June 27, 2013
How many lives have to be lost before we start asking where all the money is going? When did we just decide no one was responsible for anything? Here are two videos you need to listen to.
Iraq veteran talks about coming home and feeling like a train wreck. He ends this part by talking about when he took his gun, chambered the round and stuck the barrel in his mouth.
He begins talking about how he had the gun in his mouth when his wife walked in. Had she not entered the room when she did, he wouldn't have lived to tell his story.
Paul learned how to know that he was not only forgiven but was able to forgive himself.
We can always say dumb things when we are confronted by someone in so much pain. It is an automatic response to try to fix them. Not because we think we have all the answers, but it is just too hard to see them hurting so much and standing there in silence doesn't seem to be an option. Our silence is what they need sometimes. Just to be there and listen to them helps them heal. Our silence other times ends up harming them more because when they can't find the words, we have to be their voice.
After I was speaking at a Point Man conference I was enjoying the music. I grabbed my camera and shot this video back in 2010. (It is one of the reasons why I decided to go to school to learn how to shoot videos.) As you can see the footage is all over the place. I didn't plan on filming what Paul had to say. I was just standing at the back of the church trying to get some audio of the band that played before him. I was holding the camera, for some reason, didn't think of shutting it off when Paul began to tell his story. When he was done, I told him I filmed him and gave him the option of taking the tape, destroying it or allowing me to put it up on YouTube. It didn't take him long to decide. He said "Put it up because I am tired of losing my guys."
What is important is what he had to say almost three years ago. It is all still going on right now. Paul talked about how Point Man helped him not just heal but inspired him to help others.
It seems as if the groups popping up all over the country, sending out fundraising letters and being sponsored by companies on TV along with an endless supply of corporations sponsoring their events have a lot to answer for, but no one is asking them any questions. The numbers of attempted suicides, like Paul on the brink, should have clued people in a long time ago that when groups talk about the "problem" and show heart tugging images on TV, they never manage to actually say what they are doing about it. I am tired of giving them publicity, even bad publicity, so I won't mention them here but I have a feeling you know exactly what group I am referring to. Most of you have sent enough emails complaining about them. The number of successful suicides reaching a record high after all the money spent with the DOD and the VA "addressing" it and "raising awareness" should have been a clue they are not being held accountable either. Then we also have the high record of calls to suicide prevention at the same time all these numbers are turing bad.
Until all of us get a clue on the lack of accountability from everyone claiming to be "doing" something, none of this will ever be any better for them.
Other groups can come and go but Point Man has been doing the work of healing the "moral injury" that has been in the news lately and working with families since 1984. They started with Vietnam veterans before average people heard about PTSD. What we do doesn't cost a lot of money. How much does it cost to give someone your time, answer an email, say a prayer or take them out for a cup of coffee? Sure we have to pay for Bibles and materials if we have groups. In my case, I attend so many events that I travel with a supply of Bibles because I know I'll be talking to someone in need of these special Bibles written for veterans.
They are suffering but too many huge groups are gaining from their pain instead of investing in their healing. I am tired of it. I was tired of it when I was writing my book, which I know you may be tired of hearing about so I won't write the title this time. I am tired of turing on the TV and hearing about everything but the truth on how things got so messed up for our veterans when we have known about all of this for this long. Most of all I am tired of one more Mom asking why her son or her daughter decided to die instead of staying here. I used to be able to tell them that things were changing but that was years ago. Now I don't know what to say other than try to comfort them while they blame themselves for something that was not their fault.
Not doing anything after you read their stories is part of the problem because everyone will keep getting away with all of this unless we demand accountability all the way around. Don't the veterans deserve at least that from us?
Labor Department Awards $29 Million in Grants to Help Veterans
Labor Department Awards $29 Million in Grants to Help Veterans
From a Department of Labor News Release
WASHINGTON, June 27, 2013 – More than 14,000 veterans across the nation will benefit from job training, job placement, housing help and other services, thanks to 121 grants totaling almost $29 million announced today by officials of the Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service.
The grants were awarded through the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program, the only federal program that focuses exclusively on employment of homeless veterans.
"Military service members and their families have been asked to make tremendous sacrifices for this nation. Although homelessness among veterans has fallen, too many of our heroes cannot find jobs or homes," acting Labor Secretary Seth D. Harris said. "These grants will provide those who have served our nation with the means to find meaningful civilian employment and chart new directions for their lives."
The grants will help homeless veterans reintegrate into society and the labor force while providing effective services aimed at addressing the complex challenges that homeless veterans often confront, officials said. The services provided by grantees will include job placement, on-the-job training, career counseling, life skills and money management mentoring, as well as help in finding housing.
Funds were awarded on a competitive basis to state and local workforce investment boards, local public agencies and nonprofit organizations, including faith-based and community organizations. These organizations are familiar with the areas and populations to be served, officials explained, and have demonstrated that they can administer effective programs to help veterans.
From a Department of Labor News Release
WASHINGTON, June 27, 2013 – More than 14,000 veterans across the nation will benefit from job training, job placement, housing help and other services, thanks to 121 grants totaling almost $29 million announced today by officials of the Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service.
The grants were awarded through the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program, the only federal program that focuses exclusively on employment of homeless veterans.
"Military service members and their families have been asked to make tremendous sacrifices for this nation. Although homelessness among veterans has fallen, too many of our heroes cannot find jobs or homes," acting Labor Secretary Seth D. Harris said. "These grants will provide those who have served our nation with the means to find meaningful civilian employment and chart new directions for their lives."
The grants will help homeless veterans reintegrate into society and the labor force while providing effective services aimed at addressing the complex challenges that homeless veterans often confront, officials said. The services provided by grantees will include job placement, on-the-job training, career counseling, life skills and money management mentoring, as well as help in finding housing.
Funds were awarded on a competitive basis to state and local workforce investment boards, local public agencies and nonprofit organizations, including faith-based and community organizations. These organizations are familiar with the areas and populations to be served, officials explained, and have demonstrated that they can administer effective programs to help veterans.
Dying pregnant soldier’s cries for baby allowed in Fort Hood massacre trial
Hood shooting trial judge: Testimony about dying pregnant soldier
Jun. 27, 2013
The Associated Press
FORT HOOD, TEXAS — A military judge says witness testimony about a dying pregnant soldier’s cries of “My baby! My baby!” will be allowed during the murder trial of the Army psychiatrist charged in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage.
Col. Tara Osborn ruled on motions Thursday in Maj. Nidal Hasan’s case. He faces execution or life without parole if convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.
read more here
Jun. 27, 2013
The Associated Press
FORT HOOD, TEXAS — A military judge says witness testimony about a dying pregnant soldier’s cries of “My baby! My baby!” will be allowed during the murder trial of the Army psychiatrist charged in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage.
Col. Tara Osborn ruled on motions Thursday in Maj. Nidal Hasan’s case. He faces execution or life without parole if convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.
read more here
Afghan deployment was the beginning of the end for captain’s career
Afghan deployment was the beginning of the end for captain’s career
25 minutes ago
FEATURE STORY
by Megan McCloskey
Stars and Stripes
Published: June 27, 2013
Part 2: Red flags add up as Martinez heads downrange
FORT HOOD, Texas — Capt. Anthony Martinez arrived in Afghanistan in June 2010, in command of a 230-person company.
At Forward Operating Base Spin Boldak, a base with a couple of thousand servicemembers in southern Kandahar, Martinez was appointed “mayor” of the facility, meaning he was in charge of keeping the place running. If a septic tank burst, for example, Martinez was the go-to officer to arrange for it to be fixed. In all, he was responsible for $141.6 million worth of equipment.
First Sgt. Malaloa Vaomu, the top enlisted soldier in the company, said he and Martinez were stretched thin, and “the level of stress amplified [Martinez’s] issues.”
Martinez, a West Point graduate who by all accounts was an excellent Army officer, started to struggle when he got home from his second deployment to Iraq. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, had insomnia and eventually deteriorated in mental health to the point of suicidal thoughts.
About a month and half before deploying, Martinez threatened suicide, but the gesture and other red flags were largely ignored by his commanders. Vaomu had asked for Martinez to be replaced as company commander to no avail.
As the summer in Afghanistan progressed, Martinez increasingly had angry outbursts at soldiers, often ordering counselings for them that his company leadership disagreed with as unnecessary. At one point, for three days Martinez “shut himself in his office and only came out for meals and to use the latrine,” Spc. Brandon Petty testified at an eventual board of inquiry for Martinez’s elimination as an Army officer.
The first week of August, Martinez hit a wall. He decided to quit not just command but the whole Army. He went to his battalion commander, Lt. Col. Calvin Downey, to resign his commission.
Martinez said Downey told him he would send his resignation up to legal, but nothing came of it.
Yet another red flag, unnoticed.
Martinez recalled Downey told him to “keep his head up and drive on.”
“I was so overwhelmed,” Martinez said. “On many nights I would go to my [room] and I thought about killing myself. Even loaded my gun.”
read more here
25 minutes ago
FEATURE STORY
by Megan McCloskey
Stars and Stripes
Published: June 27, 2013
Part 2: Red flags add up as Martinez heads downrange
FORT HOOD, Texas — Capt. Anthony Martinez arrived in Afghanistan in June 2010, in command of a 230-person company.
At Forward Operating Base Spin Boldak, a base with a couple of thousand servicemembers in southern Kandahar, Martinez was appointed “mayor” of the facility, meaning he was in charge of keeping the place running. If a septic tank burst, for example, Martinez was the go-to officer to arrange for it to be fixed. In all, he was responsible for $141.6 million worth of equipment.
First Sgt. Malaloa Vaomu, the top enlisted soldier in the company, said he and Martinez were stretched thin, and “the level of stress amplified [Martinez’s] issues.”
Martinez, a West Point graduate who by all accounts was an excellent Army officer, started to struggle when he got home from his second deployment to Iraq. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, had insomnia and eventually deteriorated in mental health to the point of suicidal thoughts.
About a month and half before deploying, Martinez threatened suicide, but the gesture and other red flags were largely ignored by his commanders. Vaomu had asked for Martinez to be replaced as company commander to no avail.
As the summer in Afghanistan progressed, Martinez increasingly had angry outbursts at soldiers, often ordering counselings for them that his company leadership disagreed with as unnecessary. At one point, for three days Martinez “shut himself in his office and only came out for meals and to use the latrine,” Spc. Brandon Petty testified at an eventual board of inquiry for Martinez’s elimination as an Army officer.
The first week of August, Martinez hit a wall. He decided to quit not just command but the whole Army. He went to his battalion commander, Lt. Col. Calvin Downey, to resign his commission.
Martinez said Downey told him he would send his resignation up to legal, but nothing came of it.
Yet another red flag, unnoticed.
Martinez recalled Downey told him to “keep his head up and drive on.”
“I was so overwhelmed,” Martinez said. “On many nights I would go to my [room] and I thought about killing myself. Even loaded my gun.”
read more here
Army didn't help Captain screaming for help, now they want him out?
When you read editorial comments on Wounded Times and you get the impression I am pissed off, you are correct. Maybe after reading the story of Captain Anthony Martinez you'll get pissed off too. Lord knows with everything going on, we should be!
This is part one and there is another one up on Stars and Stripes to follow this one.
This is part one and there is another one up on Stars and Stripes to follow this one.
An officer on the brink
FEATURE STORY
by Megan McCloskey
Stars and Stripes
Published: June 26, 2013
Part 1: The rise and fall of Army Capt. Anthony Martinez
FROM WEST POINT TO IRAQ
From early in his career, Capt. Anthony Martinez excelled in the Army. Then came PTSD and suicidal thoughts. The Army ignored his struggles and sent him back to war. Not until Martinez lost control in Afghanistan did the Army decide to pay attention. Now the service wants to kick him out.
FORT HOOD, Texas — Six months before his deployment to Afghanistan, Capt. Anthony Martinez gravely doubted his ability to lead.
He had post-traumatic stress disorder. He wasn’t sleeping at night and was barely holding it together during the day. He told his boss he couldn’t handle command of the battalion’s largest company. Senior noncommissioned officers asked leadership to remove Martinez.
Six weeks before shipping off, Martinez threatened to kill himself.
Then he wrote a formal memo detailing who should take over the company if he had a mental breakdown while in Afghanistan.
The Army did nothing — except send him to war.
No one in his chain of command questioned whether a suicidal officer, hobbled by PTSD and addled by psychotropic drugs, was fit for combat.
Once in Afghanistan, Martinez quickly cracked under the pressure, and the meltdown some had been afraid of became a reality. He isolated himself, had angry, irrational outbursts and, finally, in the culmination of his ruin, threatened two soldiers.
He told one to get out of his office “or I’ll shoot you in the face.” Then, during an argument with his supply sergeant, he ordered a private in the room to load his weapon — an unheard of escalation on a fellow soldier.
Now the Army wants to act.
After ignoring the issues, the service wants to kick Martinez out for the very behavior that medical experts say proves why he never should have been in Afghanistan in the first place.
read more here
The Suicide Detective misses evidence
The Suicide Detective misses evidence
Wounded Times Blog
Kathie Costos
June 27, 2013
There is a really good article "The Suicide Detective" on the New York Times by Kim Tingley. It is long but a good read. Right now I need to point one part of it out.
The Army has made a "major investment" in this research on top of what they already spent and this goes back to 2009!
I am not as happy as I thought I would have been with the title of this article. There is nothing new. People commit suicide for one very simple reason. They have lost hope that the next day could be any better than the day they are suffering in. The reasons their lives are miserable is long and complicated but the loss of hope is the end for far too many. The evidence has been documented by families for far too long.
Some people commit suicide over financial reasons and job loss. Their families are suffering and they feel helpless to change that. Some face health problems with a diagnosis of prolonged suffering and no hope of cure. Some are lonely with no one to talk to or let them know they matter to at least one person on this earth. It all comes down to hope.
With Combat PTSD, it is far different than what civilians face. For the men and women in the military, most had never thought of doing anything other than being in the military, or members of the National Guards. The only other group close to them is law enforcement, followed closely by firefighters, but that group is a bit different because they, for the most part, do not do their jobs with violence. The troops and law enforcement do.
They face the threat to their lives as part of their jobs on a daily basis. They also face the fact that they may have to use violence in response. For them, just like all other humans, they face the same issues everyone else does but they have the added risk factors from their jobs. Survivors guilt is even harder to treat but while it cannot be "cured" they can live better lives with the right treatment.
Just as experts acknowledge there is no one size fits all medication for them, they must also acknowledge there is no one size fits all answer to treating their physical body or their spiritual body. What works for one does not work for all in anything however if researchers continue to avoid the spiritual part of the whole veteran, they will never discover what will offer them the most hope for tomorrow being any better than today is.
One more reminder is 2012 was the highest suicide total on record.
Wounded Times Blog
Kathie Costos
June 27, 2013
There is a really good article "The Suicide Detective" on the New York Times by Kim Tingley. It is long but a good read. Right now I need to point one part of it out.
The Army has made a "major investment" in this research on top of what they already spent and this goes back to 2009!
A major investment of money and manpower from the Army is set to revolutionize the scope of collecting data on suicidal behavior. Nock and his team are participating in the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers, which got under way in 2009 and is the most comprehensive investigation of suicide ever undertaken. The Army’s access to thousands of volunteers who lead comparable lifestyles and excel at following instructions offers a unique laboratory for Framingham-scale longitudinal studies. Nock envisions, for instance, one day beaming the I.A.T., Stroop and other tests to servicemembers’ phones daily — a technological feat unthinkable a decade ago. Those scores might reveal suicidal thoughts in real time. They might also offer a way to monitor patients known to be at high risk and call them if they seem to be entering a dangerous frame of mind.
“Right now, we ask people if they’re suicidal,” Nock said. “And if they say yes, we give them medication to try and make them less depressed or less anxious or less psychotic or to have a more stable mood. And then we talk to them. We do talk therapy. And essentially talk them into not being suicidal anymore. And this over all as a strategy for many people does not seem to be curative.” But if doctors could see which patients are suicidal at a given moment, they might be able to retrain their self-destructive thinking based on their test scores. If, as the I.A.T. seems to suggest, associating yourself more with dying than with living increases your risk for suicide, breaking that association might decrease it.
To find out, Nock is developing computer tasks that he hopes could help get people, through rote practice, to identify more with being alive than dead. His researchers are also starting to test whether training people to think more positively about the past and the future makes them less likely to attempt suicide. Nock often talks about “turning levers,” as if he were a railroad-switch operator manning an existential junction. “Can we think of suicide as resulting from problems with memory or cognition or attention?” he said. “And if so, can we then turn levers on those things to make people less likely to think about suicide? So, it’s not giving a pill; it’s giving a training.”
I am not as happy as I thought I would have been with the title of this article. There is nothing new. People commit suicide for one very simple reason. They have lost hope that the next day could be any better than the day they are suffering in. The reasons their lives are miserable is long and complicated but the loss of hope is the end for far too many. The evidence has been documented by families for far too long.
Some people commit suicide over financial reasons and job loss. Their families are suffering and they feel helpless to change that. Some face health problems with a diagnosis of prolonged suffering and no hope of cure. Some are lonely with no one to talk to or let them know they matter to at least one person on this earth. It all comes down to hope.
With Combat PTSD, it is far different than what civilians face. For the men and women in the military, most had never thought of doing anything other than being in the military, or members of the National Guards. The only other group close to them is law enforcement, followed closely by firefighters, but that group is a bit different because they, for the most part, do not do their jobs with violence. The troops and law enforcement do.
They face the threat to their lives as part of their jobs on a daily basis. They also face the fact that they may have to use violence in response. For them, just like all other humans, they face the same issues everyone else does but they have the added risk factors from their jobs. Survivors guilt is even harder to treat but while it cannot be "cured" they can live better lives with the right treatment.
Just as experts acknowledge there is no one size fits all medication for them, they must also acknowledge there is no one size fits all answer to treating their physical body or their spiritual body. What works for one does not work for all in anything however if researchers continue to avoid the spiritual part of the whole veteran, they will never discover what will offer them the most hope for tomorrow being any better than today is.
One more reminder is 2012 was the highest suicide total on record.
Veterans discuss PTSD and suicide after war
Veterans discuss PTSD signs
Veterans discuss PTSD and suicide after war
Written by
Laura Peters
Jun. 26, 2013
STAUNTON — Ben Shaw had blown all his money on toys and alcohol. He was living on his parents’ couch at 28 years old.
Once a highly esteemed Marine, he came back from the Iraq War in 2007 after being overseas for four years.
He says he doesn’t remember much of his life after he returned home. He took almost all his money to purchase a motorcycle and hit the road. The rest of his cash, he drank it away.
“Don’t ask me what happened during that trip, I was drunk for most of it,” he admitted.
He had found love, then had his heart broken after his fiancé cheated on him, left him and took the ring.
During a PTSD and suicide forum at VFW Post 2216 in Staunton, he told his story about how he thought he could escape all his problems with ending his life.
“Late 2008, I’m sitting here grasping at straws, by process of elimination I tried all these things, nothing’s working, nothing’s sticking.
Nothing was sort of hoisting me out of where I am,” Shaw said. “I remember just mulling over this and at one point I just caught myself saying, well if this doesn’t work, I’ll just kill myself. It was stunning. It was not something I expected. It was not something I intentionally thought about.”
To this day, he can’t explain the thinking behind his suicidal thoughts.
read more here
To learn more about what is going on with suicides after war read, THE WARRIOR SAW, SUICIDES AFTER WAR
Veterans discuss PTSD and suicide after war
Written by
Laura Peters
Jun. 26, 2013
STAUNTON — Ben Shaw had blown all his money on toys and alcohol. He was living on his parents’ couch at 28 years old.
Once a highly esteemed Marine, he came back from the Iraq War in 2007 after being overseas for four years.
He says he doesn’t remember much of his life after he returned home. He took almost all his money to purchase a motorcycle and hit the road. The rest of his cash, he drank it away.
“Don’t ask me what happened during that trip, I was drunk for most of it,” he admitted.
He had found love, then had his heart broken after his fiancé cheated on him, left him and took the ring.
During a PTSD and suicide forum at VFW Post 2216 in Staunton, he told his story about how he thought he could escape all his problems with ending his life.
“Late 2008, I’m sitting here grasping at straws, by process of elimination I tried all these things, nothing’s working, nothing’s sticking.
Nothing was sort of hoisting me out of where I am,” Shaw said. “I remember just mulling over this and at one point I just caught myself saying, well if this doesn’t work, I’ll just kill myself. It was stunning. It was not something I expected. It was not something I intentionally thought about.”
To this day, he can’t explain the thinking behind his suicidal thoughts.
read more here
To learn more about what is going on with suicides after war read, THE WARRIOR SAW, SUICIDES AFTER WAR
Iraq veteran gets shock at CMA Music Festival
Home, finally
Lake Norman Citizen
Written by Lori Helms
26 June 2013
Iraqi war veteran's family receives mortgage-free home from local builder just in the nick of time.
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. -- Please don't cry on national television, please don't cry on national television ...
Ashley Wiley says that was the lone thought running on a silent loop in her brain one very surreal afternoon a few weeks ago.
She was really trying to hold it together, as the realization of what had just happened slowly dawned on her.
There she was, on stage at a CMA Music Festival concert in Nashville with country music star Kix Brooks, who had just announced she and her husband, retired Army Sgt. Ron Wiley, would receive a custom-built home through the nonprofit organization Operation FINALLY HOME in partnership with local builder Classica Homes. The home will be built in Huntersville in the Treasure Cove community.
"And then I cried on national television," she says.
Considering the sudden and monumental turn of events in the lives of her family that Sunday in early June, her tears of joy and relief — even on national television — are quite understandable, because to say things hadn't been easy the past few years would be an incredible understatement.
A 17-year Army veteran, her husband was injured during his second tour in Iraq in 2009. The Humvee he was driving struck an improvised explosive device, and as a result of the concussion from the blast, Sgt. Wiley suffered traumatic brain injury in addition to injuries to his spine. As if the extreme physical damage and resulting limitations were not enough, he also struggles with severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
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Lake Norman Citizen
Written by Lori Helms
26 June 2013
Iraqi war veteran's family receives mortgage-free home from local builder just in the nick of time.
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. -- Please don't cry on national television, please don't cry on national television ...
Ashley Wiley says that was the lone thought running on a silent loop in her brain one very surreal afternoon a few weeks ago.
She was really trying to hold it together, as the realization of what had just happened slowly dawned on her.
There she was, on stage at a CMA Music Festival concert in Nashville with country music star Kix Brooks, who had just announced she and her husband, retired Army Sgt. Ron Wiley, would receive a custom-built home through the nonprofit organization Operation FINALLY HOME in partnership with local builder Classica Homes. The home will be built in Huntersville in the Treasure Cove community.
"And then I cried on national television," she says.
Considering the sudden and monumental turn of events in the lives of her family that Sunday in early June, her tears of joy and relief — even on national television — are quite understandable, because to say things hadn't been easy the past few years would be an incredible understatement.
A 17-year Army veteran, her husband was injured during his second tour in Iraq in 2009. The Humvee he was driving struck an improvised explosive device, and as a result of the concussion from the blast, Sgt. Wiley suffered traumatic brain injury in addition to injuries to his spine. As if the extreme physical damage and resulting limitations were not enough, he also struggles with severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
read more here
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